Taking into account that the so-called “heel prick test” covers 99.5% of babies born in Portugal, the figures now released reveal that in 2024 around 1,100 fewer children were born than in 2023.

Data from the National Neonatal Screening Program (PNRN) indicate that a total of 84,631 newborns were studied in 2024, when in the previous year 85,764 had been screened.

As part of these screenings, in 2024, 45 cases of hereditary metabolic diseases, 40 of congenital hypothyroidism, six of cystic fibrosis, four of spinal muscular atrophy and 43 of sickle cell disease were identified, for a total of 138 diagnoses, two more than in the previous year, INSA told Lusa news agency.

The majority of the 84,631 births last year occurred in Lisbon (25,865), Porto (14,923) and Setúbal (6,903), while Bragança (494), Portalegre (547) and Guarda (666) recorded the lowest number of newborns last year.

The number of tests carried out in 2024 is the third lowest in the last ten years, only above 2021, when the “heel prick test” covered a total of 79,217 children, and in 2022, the year with 83,436 tests.

According to data from Insa, the year in the last decade with the most exams performed was 2016, with a total of 87,577.

Since 1979, the PNRN has been carrying out tests on newborns to screen for almost 30 rare diseases, most of which are genetic, such as phenylketonuria or congenital hypothyroidism, allowing babies to benefit from early treatments.